14-year-old girls to be taught about their 'right' to have an abortion

Schoolgirls as young as 14 could be forced to watch a film that teaches them they have the right to choose an abortion.

The film puts forward the idea that it is up to a woman if she wants to terminate her pregnancy, and makers claim only a few are left traumatised by the procedure.

Made by the Family Planning Association, Why Abortion? shows a range of scenarios in which actresses justify abortion on the grounds that they cannot afford to have a child or that it could jeopardise their relationship with parents or boyfriends.

Their choices are then debated in the video by a group of teenagers from Northern Ireland - where abortion remains illegal – with the majority defending women's right to choose. They claim that abortion is legal and safe, and that religious leaders shouldn't "moralise or dictate" about the issue.

The pro-choice FPA says that abortion is a fact of life and so it makes sense for teenagers to learn about it. England and Wales has the second-highest termination rate in Europe, with 205,600 abortions carried out in 2007, while Labour MPs rejected moves to cut the upper time limit from 24 to 20 weeks earlier this year.

It comes just weeks after the Government announced that sex and relationships education will become compulsory in primary schools as part of a drive to cut teenage pregnancy rates. The National Children's Bureau also wants all secondary schools to have on-site sexual health clinics, while girls as young as 13 will be urged to have contraceptive injections and implants.

The FPA is offering schools the chance to buy a copy of the DVD for £25 together with a booklet that claims to explode the "myths" that having a surgical abortion can harm a woman's ability to conceive in the future, and that terminating a baby is always upsetting.

"Women may feel relieved, have mixed feelings or feel sad. Only a few women experience long-term psychological problems and those women who do often had similar problems before pregnancy," it states.

The pack also includes contact details for private abortion providers and "non-judgemental" counselling services.

Julie Bentley, the FPA's chief executive, said: "Behind every abortion statistic is a woman making a difficult decision about her life. Why Abortion? will provide an excellent starting point for a discussion around abortion issues and will give people the chance to explore the many reasons why women may choose to have an abortion.

"Abortion is a fact of life that affects both women and men. Therefore, it is important that young people's education includes the opportunity to discuss important issues such as this in a safe and supportive environment."

But critics say schoolchildren should not be taught about abortion by an organisation that is so dismissive of the potential psychological and physical problems associated with terminations, and which ignores the rights of the unborn child.

Josephine Quintaville, a leading commentator on medical ethics and a member of the Pro-Life Alliance, said: "I wouldn't trust the Family Planning Association to teach ethics.

"It is selling to schoolchildren the idea that women have a right to an abortion, that it's just one of those choices. If it's so unimportant, why is it still illegal? All the Abortion Act has done is create a situation where you won't be prosecuted if you have argued a case for it."

A spokesman for the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child – which also gives talks in schools – added: "I completely disagree with these things being shown in lessons. They give a very unbalanced view of what abortion entails.

"They don't give any indication that it might create psychological difficulties, and the realistic alternative to abortion is not covered."

Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust added: “They are not doing women any favours by pretending that abortion is a simple and safe procedure that rarely leads to lasting trauma.

“A casual attitude towards abortion is the inevitable fruit of a society that has made an idol of sexual pleasure and failed to respect its proper place and purpose in the context of a lifelong marriage.

“The truth is that every abortion involves a personal tragedy for a mother and a child, which will have lasting consequences, whether immediately felt or not.”